Lobby Level: Toronto Audiofest 2024 Show Report
Let's visit the Ground Floor and hear what's new.
Toronto Audiofest 2024 Show Report By Rick Becker

Sutton B  EQ Audio
Out in the hallway EQ Audio had set up a counter display for an assortment of Focal headphones as they had done in past years. I had been moving along quickly this year but it would not be until Sunday that I would explore the big room with the Earvana Fest in the Holiday Inn next door to the Westin.

Sutton B was another very large room and once again EQ Audio had divided it up into six vignettes that were each two to three times the size of the sleeping rooms in the hotel. In tour-guide fashion, music was played in each vignette in sequence. I listened to a few of them during my visit on Saturday and again on Sunday, but essentially I spun through the room to keep in sequence so I could remember things.

The first vignette as I started down the right side of the room featured the Audiovector R8 Arrete speakers with a gorgeous Italian Walnut Burl with a gloss finish and the drivers ringed in aluminum on the aluminum-covered top half of the baffle. Acoustic Solid's lovely Solid Wood turntable from Germany was on the top shelf, minus its drive belt. Below it was a Trilogy 925 integrated amplifier. On the bottom shelf was a Playback Designs CD player and a Zesto Audio Andros Spirit phono stage. The cables were Cardas Audio Clear Beyond. I've heard this speaker before in Montreal and been very impressed with it, but the electronics were completely different.

This vignette was by Audio Group Denmark featuring a Borresen speaker, Axxess Forte 3 integrated amplifier, Ansuz Power Switch A3, and other Ansuz power products. The equipment rack was a Naim Frame Lite.

Monitor Audio Platinum 3G speakers were gorgeous in a high gloss finish, as was the Acoustic Solid 113 Bubinga with its double plinth. An Innuos Pulsar streamer was below it. A Michi P5 Series 2 Preamplifier and S5 stereo power amplifier drove the speakers. A Norstone Stabbi rack was in service here and I spotted an Audience power conditioner on the floor to the left of the rack.

Above is a closer look at the turntable. The pace of the guided tour of the EQ Audio space precluded listening to LPs. I think they missed an opportunity here, but it took a long time to circle through all six vignettes.

In the back left corner of the room was a Musical Fidelity rig driving Focal Scala Utopia Evo 3-way speakers. On top of the left rack was a Musical Fidelity Nu-Vista preamp with its power supply on the shelf below it. A Musical Fidelity Max DAC was on the bottom shelf. On the center rack was a Lucite turntable from Musical Fidelity with an Innuos Zenith below it. Below that was a Nu-Vista PA5 power amp and an Audience Adept Response aR12 power conditioner.

On the right Norstone Spider rack was a Nu-Vista Vinyl 2 phono preamplifier with remote control. ($11,550 USD). Possibly that was its power supply below it. On the bottom shelf was a Van Halen LP – just in case! This was one of the rigs I heard in this room. It sounded decent with a full, ripe bass which was typical of Focal's larger speakers.

Playing an LP on the Musical Fidelity M8xTT might have caught my ear, but the LP was a compilation from Inakustik, so all bets are off.

The new Focal Diva Utopia wireless speaker was the star of the show in this room. The sound here took wireless speakers to a new level.

Focal broke some design barriers with what appeared to be a cloth, layered wrap. Note the side-firing woofers and the split down the front. The Focal logo near the floor was also illuminated. The style was elegant and sophisticated, yet casual at the same time with the cloth-covered sides. I can see this in a wide variety of (wealthy) homes.

The Diva is a wireless, connected, active loudspeaker with a built-in streaming platform, connectivity for external sources, DAC, DSP, UWB transmitter-receiver (up to 10m), and four Class AB amplifiers (400 Watts) in each speaker. It is priced at $39,999 pair USD / $51,999 pair CAD. Considering that it is an all-in-one speaker and you don't need a lot of cables or an expensive rack, this is a bargain. The lack of clutter will be appreciated by many, too. But don't go cheap on the power cords.

Special two-tone paint on the tweeter's grill was an eye-catching touch.

I also heard this Focal powered by Naim rig on the left as you walk into the large room. Focal Sopra No.3 speakers had an attractive two-tone gloss finish. The rack on the left had a Naim NVC TT phono preamp on top with a Naim NAC 332 preamp below with its NPX 300 power supply on the next shelf below. On the bottom shelf was a Naim NAP 350 monoblock power amp with its partner just to the right.

The shelf on the right had an Oracle Audio Origine Mk II turntable with an orange light illuminating a couple of layers of acrylic – you get to choose a color. Below it was a high-resolution NSS 333 Network Streamer with its power supply. The racks were Quadraspire SVT racks. I had seen Quadraspire racks in numerous rooms at the show, usually with wood shelves.

It is tough to get good sound in a room as large as this with curtains separating so many rigs. It happens once in a while and it almost seems like a miracle.

As I left I spotted a series of Naim all-in-ones. They have been making these for many years now, and the industry has caught on to the idea at many price levels.

More Toronto Show Coverage Coming Soon
It was now late afternoon on Saturday so I claimed my room and lugged my gear up to the room to refresh myself before the industry dinner and the presentation of the Lifetime Achievement Awards which I will cover in Part 6.

The two rooms in the Lower Level plus the rooms in the adjacent Holiday Inn are still to come, so keep checking back. Hopefully, I'll wrap it up before the Capital Audiofest 2024 later this week.

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